The Wall Street Journal recently profiled Nicolas Berggruen, a billionaire who has apparently become fascinated with political gridlock and enamored with the smoke-filled room. What makes Berggruen interesting is his ability to summon personalities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Joseph Stiglitz, Tony Blair and Condoleezza Rice. (more)

What an action-packed week it was—how will “Left, Right & Center” regulars Robert Scheer, Matt Miller and Tony Blankley and guest panelist Chrystia Freeland possibly cover it all in 30 minutes? But they do—and they also manage to slip a little Newt-talk in there, too. Listen and learn.

Here we have a headline that smacks of the inevitable: Arnold Schwarzenegger has conceded that he fathered a child just over 10 years ago with a longtime member of his household staff. This “event,” as the former California governor called it in a statement ... (more)

We’ve seen several cases by now of entertainers crossing over into the political realm, but few treat that career-swapping switch like a revolving door. First of all, it’s unwise, and second, it’s not easily done—unless, apparently, you’re Arnold Schwarzenegger.

What better PR could a politician leaving such a significant position as governor of California ask for than an animated series depicting him as a superhero? Not to be deterred by things like voting records, economic indicators or events that transpired during his time in office ...

Talk about building a brand: He’s played an action hero and a president, and now Arnold Schwarzenegger is starring in his own combination comic book and cartoon franchise, clearly the logical next step for California’s former governor. Really, Stan Lee?

Well, really, what else did you think former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would do with his free time? Having left the Golden State’s governor’s post to non-action-hero Jerry Brown, Schwarzenegger promptly tweeted his hopeful return to Hollywood ...

Something seems familiar about this scene: On Monday, California’s former and now repeat Gov. Jerry Brown made his status official at a swearing-in ceremony in Sacramento, apparently comfortable enough in his position to get a bit goofy with the occasion.

California’s current governor refused to tell reporters whether he voted for Democrat Jerry Brown or fellow Republican Meg Whitman in Tuesday’s election. Schwarzenegger has not endorsed either candidate for governor.

That’s Gov. Schwarzenegger: 1, and some 200,000 California state workers: SOL. On Monday, the Golden State’s Supreme Court officially signaled its support for Schwarzenegger’s mandate that some state employees take three days off, unpaid, per month. A real crowd-pleaser!

In case you hadn’t heard, the Golden State ain’t so golden these days, and Gov. Schwarzenegger is having a tough time finding a way to yank California out of a yawning financial hole. This is where gambling comes in.

She played a politician on TV, and now Geena Davis, who did a short stint as America’s first female president on “Commander in Chief,” is California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s appointee for the Golden State’s Commission on the Status of Women.

We’re pleased to announce that Truthdig won four first-place honors, more than any other website, in the Southern California Journalism Awards presented by the Los Angeles Press Club on Sunday evening in Los Angeles.

What is so great about our bloated federal government that when a libertarian threatens to become a senator, otherwise rational and mostly liberal pundits start frothing at the mouth? What Rand Paul thinks about the Civil Rights Act, passed 46 years ago, hardly seems the most pressing issue of social justice before us.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is again attempting to eliminate the state’s welfare-to-work program as his Republican administration tries to cut spending while not raising taxes, a move intended to save $1.6 billion at the expense of 1.3 million poor people.

We’ve known for years that Jerry Brown would run to succeed Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2010, but the former two-term governor waited until Tuesday to make it official. In his announcement video, Brown promised not to raise taxes without ... (continued)

What’s to be done about California’s budget woes? Well, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is cutting way back on spending on such superfluous concerns as “health, welfare, transport and the environment,” according to the BBC. But really, this’ll hurt him more than it’ll hurt ... oh, never mind.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger apparently isn’t one of those Republicans who believe that growing international concerns about climate change stem from a vast left-wing conspiracy. Here, he takes stock of the climate-related challenges his adopted home state may face and what’s to be done about them.

I’m “the heavy-handed UFW press relations chief who had to quietly resign,” the one to whom Marc Cooper refers in his latest attack on Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers (“Marc Cooper on the Fate of Cesar Chavez’s Dream,” Truthdig, Nov. 13). Like most of the rest of his article, this claim is false.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has changed his tune about Harvey Milk Day, signing a bill on Monday to make May 22, Milk’s birthday, a day of official commemoration for the slain San Francisco supervisor and gay rights activist.

Here’s a, um, creative way to funnel some money into a broke state’s coffers: Hold a California-themed garage sale, starring actor-turned-Gubernator Arnold Schwarzenegger. The governor has added a personal touch to some bigger-ticket items, such as automobiles, by signing them in an effort to clear out the state’s storage sheds and bring in the cash. What’s next, a Golden State bake sale?

I expected a federal government that has spent trillions salvaging the banks that got us into this mess to find the relatively minor sums needed to bail out California and other states that have been the victims of Wall Street’s dangerous games. But I didn’t count on the tough-love steeliness of the Obama administration.

Having been resoundingly honored for his onscreen portrayal of Harvey Milk, Sean Penn is now calling for a high honor for Milk, asking for an official “Harvey Milk Day” in California to commemorate the slain San Francisco politician and gay rights activist.

During the Proposition 8 campaign and amid the fallout since California voters approved the banning of same-sex marriage, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proved that, although he once was teased for grunting and mugging his way through dialogue-challenged movies, he can now mince words with the best of the political crowd.

As political leaders from the right rally their base seeking to outlaw gay marriage, and their counterparts on the left triangulate and equivocate, any real examination of the driving conflicts and stakes behind this crucial human rights concern is conspicuously missing from their debates about California’s Proposition 8.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s stance on the death penalty issue raises some serious questions, according to actor, author and activist Mike Farrell, who poses several of his own in this fiery piece.

Democratic legislators in California are upset over a new execution chamber to be built in San Quentin Prison. Some lawmakers have accused Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of trying to “bypass the Legislature” by concealing details of the project.